Home Exchange Vacations: Why Pay to Stay When You Can Swap Houses?

Summer is around the corner, but vacation budgets for many families are tight. TERA Gold But a bit of belt-tightening doesn't have to mean giving up your dream vacation if you're able to escape the costs of a hotel and car rental. Now could be the time to take a leap of faith and try a home exchange or swap.

The practice dates back more 50 years, but its popularity has grown rapidly since the start of the Great Recession. For example, the largest exchange site, HomeExchange.com, has grown to 42,000 members so far this year -- up from 20,000 in 2008, when the markets began their descent and the economy cratered.

That growth should come as no surprise. RIFT Platinum A family of four visiting Paris can spend roughly $5,000 for a single hotel room with double beds over a two-week period. In a home exchange, that cost drops to zero. Then there's the $500 to $600 it would cost to rent a car for that period -- another expense that could be eliminated if both parties are willing to loan each other their vehicles. rift gold According to Ed Kushins, president of HomeExchange.com, approximately 20% of all home exchanges also include a car exchange.

But swapping homes or apartments isn't for everyone, cautions Joe Murray, director of KnowYourTrade.com, a home exchange review and information site. Would-be travelers need to ask themselves how comfortable they'd be knowing a stranger is in their home, even though they would be staying at that person's residence. RIFT Platinum Someone who's likely to fret constantly that a visitor might be going through their underwear drawer or breaking into their locked file cabinets will have a hard time feeling relaxed on their vacation, he says.

Some home exchange information sites like Camago even offer a quiz people can take to see if their attitude toward traveling would be a good fit for a home-exchange arrangement.

Those initial concerns, however, may be eased as the parties exchange emails and phone calls with information about their respective homes, neighborhoods,
Rift Gold local sites and friends and neighbors who would be available to ask questions, notes Kushins.

Here are some tips on how to jump into exchanging homes or apartments with total strangers in other countries or other states when embarking on a vacation, and how to avoid potential pitfalls, according to home exchange experts.